I can’t say whether or not someone has discussed it in this thread or not (or even if I have) since there are a couple threads that have ended up discussing what could make WoW more enjoyable to RPers again. In summary, forgive me if I’m reiterating things that have been said already.
Blizzard should update old capitals.
I’ll start with Stormwind.
There is a wide amount of mountains around approximately three quarters of Stormwind and a wide ocean on another front of the city. When making the landscape around Stormwind more natural with regards to the mountains, Blizzard could add a few things near the Keep.
One thing I’d like to see them add (or expand upon, if we wish to be a bit pedantic) is a proper library. There is a host of lore that is currently unavailable (because the content it was tied to has been removed) that could be placed in a library in Stormwind and Orgrimmar. This can include cutscenes that are no longer accessible in-game, cutscenes to completed content (per character or per account basis), and new in-game books providing important lore beyond having to buy an external book or go to an external website (i.e. Wowpedia) in instances where in-game access to the lore (i.e. Battle of Theramore, BfA pre-patch, WotLK Battle for Undercity) has largely been removed. In certain instances (i.e. WotLK Battle for Undercity) perhaps even NPCs could be placed to access these as scenarios with either other players or AI-filled spots. If there were limited rewards (i.e. Teldrassil mount), they do not have to be implemented as a compromise since I know that will, inevitably, arise.
I know this does not seem directly related to RP, but a very real barrier to entry to WoW RP is the way the lore is provided to the players. It is often difficult to keep up-to-date, refamiliarize, or learn the lore when that which is provided in-game is often retconned or access is removed, and a lot of modern lore is provided through methods exterior to the game.
There are also things like the Pandaren balloon, which feel out-of-place or like a second thought in their current locations. In Stormwind, there is a large, albeit thin, swathe of empty grassland between the Mage Quarter and the Everbloom portal. Using this as a district dedicated to the pandaren, with various pandaren assets (even updated to modern textures alongside the rest of Stormwind!) and replacing the current location of the balloon with a quaint picnic area would give two new areas for RPers to use and make the city more cohesive. It would also solve the problem of Stormwind textures looking old and out-of-date when new players zone in from Exile’s Reach (and updated environments can always help RPers.)
Some of the closed off and empty buildings in the various districts around the city could also be opened up and populated with doodads. Not all of them need NPCs, as RPers can populate the space in their stead.
Lion’s Rest could also connect to a new district (that is further out into the ocean) that can be used to represent the kaldorei and Gilneans. A new grey tint to Stormwind’s architecture could be used, with Gilnean and kaldorei doodads to represent the refugees from the two groups who now call Stormwind their home. The district could have been built during our time away during the Shadowlands, with help from Shamans and Druids to get the land up (literally up) and ready. Mechagnome tech could be used to explain the rapid construction of the buildings within.
There’s plenty of mountains and open space to the north of Stormwind as well. I believe the pumpkin patch near the embassy could be pushed further up there, with more government related buildings taking its place. The lore explanation could be that it has always been that way and the game is merely being updated to reflect that.
RPers will take advantage of any space you give them and craft amazing tales wherever they can. To encourage that creativity is to encourage a typically strong and dedicated aspect of the playerbase who, during content droughts, typically stay dedicated to the game purely due to strength of the community. It is a waste of potential to not update the various capitals, not just those that are widely used but those that are not. The latter are typically forgone because they lack certain aspects that make them an easy gathering space or because they are outdated.
I don’t know how soon I’ll be able to type up my posts for the other cities, but I’ll try to do so ASAP. I’ll likely do Ironforge next, so my apologies to Horde players, but I’ll get there!
I also probably forgot a couple things in my post about Stormwind, but it’s the holidays and everything is hectic.
